There are many situations in which the curved side of a cylindrical object needs to be secured to a surface. For example, barrels, such as those holding wine, may be kept on their sides. In another example, large rolls of paper and metal may be stored on their sides for easier access by automated machinery. The issue of how to secure cylindrical objects on their sides, particularly very large objects, can be quite complex. If the object is to be secured to a moving object, the issue becomes even more complex.
For example, vehicles, such as cars, vans, trucks and other wheeled modes of transport are often secured to a surface by limiting the motion of their wheels. One method of limiting the motion of the wheels is by the use of a restraint device such as a chock. Chocks have been used to secure vehicle tires in many situations, such as in garages, parking lots and on transport carriers. Such transport carriers include, for example, trains and trucks.
To transport carriers, the vehicles are often loaded onto a surface, such as a floor of the transport carrier. The surfaces of some transport carriers include holes or apertures to facilitate the attachment of restraint devices. In the case of double-deck railcars, such as those used in North America to transport carriers, the decks are covered with a grating to maximize the number of apertures. To secure the vehicles to transport carriers, in some cases, chocks are secured to the apertures provided. For example, in some cases, restraint devices such as chocks, are secured to the deck grating adjacent the tires of the vehicles. The chocks are secured to the grating as close as practical. Some chocks are generally placed either fore or aft of the wheels of one of the vehicle's axles and some are placed in an opposite location relative to the wheels of another axle. Thus, longitudinal motion of the vehicle is reduced or eliminated. In order to laterally secure the vehicles when subjected to transverse displacement forces, the chocks secured to the grating include lateral restraints. The lateral restraints include arms with a paddle-shaped end, which project over the inboard side of the tires. However, when the vehicle is subjected lateral forces, the inboard side of the tire often incurs visible scuffing and/or other damage due to repeated contact with the lateral support.
However, in the case of automobiles, the shape is evolving such that the clearance between the wheels and the adjacent body structures is decreasing. These evolutions include decreasing the space between the wheel well opening and the tire circumference, lowering the underside of the body so that it is increasingly nearer to the ground and moving the suspension components ever closer to the wheels on the inboard side. Accordingly, when the vehicle is subjected to an impact force, the tires compress against the face of the chocks. As a result, the wheels and surrounding body move towards the chocks to the extent that the tire is compressed. When subjected to greater impact forces, the adjacent body parts may collide with the chocks, potentially damaging the vehicle and/or the chock.
Also, the evolution in the vehicle shape adjacent to the wheels results in less and less room for chocks, making it increasingly difficult to insert and apply them. In some cases, the chock will interfere with the automobile's wheel well.
These conditions make it increasingly difficult to insert and apply the chocks.